News you may have missed #484
March 18, 2011 2 Comments
- Analysis: CIA may face reduced role in Pakistan after murder row. People familiar with the views of the Pakistani government say that, as part of the deal for the freeing of CIA operative Raymond Davis, the CIA agreed to give Pakistan more credit for its role in counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan, to cut back on US spying in Pakistan and to keep Pakistani authorities better informed of CIA activities.
- Lebanese Army dismantles Israeli spying device. The Lebanese Army has dismantled an Israeli electronic spy device after receiving a tip-off from members of Hezbollah, according to reports from south Lebanon. This is not the first such reported incident. More pictures of the device are posted here.
- Exhibition commemorates Soviet spy legend. An exhibition, dedicated to the 100th birth anniversary of legendary Soviet intelligence agent Nikolai Kuznetsov has opened in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Kuznetsov uncovered German plans to launch a massive tank attack in Ukraine’s Kursk region, as well as an operation to assassinate Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill in Tehran in 1943.
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Gee, from everything I’ve read in the Pakistani press, the ISI (Pakistani intelligence) asked the CIA to inform them of all CIA and Blackwater operatives in Pakistan, and the CIA refused: http://isenberg.securitycontracting.net/2011/03/cia-operatives-in-pakistan-us-declines-sharing-details/
I’m curious who exactly is responsible for the spin that the CIA is reducing and keeping the ISI better informed of their activities in Pakistan – that’s certainly not what the government of Pakistan is reporting. In fact they have launched their own investigation into the 414 Americans in Pakistan on diplomatic passports who serve no diplomatic function: http://realisticbird.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/blowback-from-the-arrest-of-the-cias-raymond-davis/ )
I would say that the ISI already has a pretty good idea what the CIA is up to in Pakistan – only for diplomatic reasons the government only discusses it in closed door sessions. Following Davis’ arrest, a number of retired Pakistani generals and ISI operatives are speaking out openly about CIA support for the Baloch separatist movement, as they feel strongly this is counter to the country’s long term interests:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/225834-Pakistan-Ex-ISI-official-alleges-CIA-RAW-Mossad-behind-Baloch-insurgency
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/15/raymond-davis%E2%80%93us-blackmail-tactics#comment-152645
The Pentagon/CIA make no secret of their desire to see energy and mineral rich Balochistan secede from Pakistan to become a US client state – just like energy and mineral rich Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and the other former Soviet republics.
Moreover there’s no way to ascertain whether random acts of terror in the border regions are caused by the Taliban, Al Qaeda or the CIA-funded BLA. However there’s no question that CIA-sponsored BLA terrorism is responsible for much of the violence – especially around the Chinese-built port in Gwadar, Pakistan (employed to offload Iranian oil destined for China). Given that both Iran and China are political/economic rivals, it’s a pity the US media doesn’t report on this.
I blog about this at http://stuartbramhall.aegauthorblogs.com/2011/03/07/our-cia-freedom-fighters-in-pakistan/
However, it is worth noting that the ISI undeniably protects the Quetta Shura.